Is mimicry a diversification-driver in ants? Biogeography, ecology, ethology, genetics and morphology define a second West-PalaearcticColobopsisspecies (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Abstract

The West-Palaearctic Colobopsis ant populations have long been considered a single species (Colobopsis truncata). We studied the diversity of this species by employing a multidisciplinary approach and combining data from our surveys, museum and private collections, and citizen science platforms. As a result, we have revealed the existence of a second species, which we describe as Colobopsis imitans sp. nov., distributed allopatrically from Co. truncata and living in the Maghreb, Sicily and southern Iberia. While the pigmentation of Co. truncata is reminiscent of Dolichoderus quadripunctatus, that of Co. imitans is similar to Crematogaster scutellaris, with which Co. imitans lives in close spatial association, and whose foraging trails it habitually follows, similar to Camponotus lateralis and other ant-mimicking ants. The isolation between Co. imitans and Co. truncata seems to have occurred relatively recently because of significant, yet not extreme, morphometric differentiation, and to mtDNA polyphyly. Both Co. imitans and Co. truncata appear to employ mimicry of an unpalatable or aggressive ant species as an important defensive strategy; this ‘choice’ of a different model species is motivated by biogeographic reasons and appears to act as a critical evolutionary driver of their diversification.

First record of Temnothorax convexus (Forel, 1894) in Portugal (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) with an updated checklist of the ants from the country

“…The Iberian records of C. sicheli Mayr, 1866 should be treated as C. ruber Emery, 1925according to Cagniant (1996. The species Camponotus truncatus (Spinola, 1808) is now named Colobopsis truncata (Spinola, 1808) (see Ward et al, 2016); however, note that after the description of the similar species Colobopsis imitans (Schifani et al, 2021) there are no reliable records of C. truncata in the territory, and although its presence in Portugal is most plausible, we have preferred to exclude it from the checklist until its existence in the region is confirmed. The species Bothriomyrmex saundersi Santschi, 1922, recorded by Espadaler et al (2008, was considered as incertae sedis by Seifert (2012b), since neither types nor terra typica were known.…”

Integrating morphology with phylogenomics to describe four island endemic species of Temnothorax from Sicily and Malta (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)

“…Sicily is the largest Mediterranean island, and its central position in the region allowed its long-neglected ant fauna to be shaped by different biogeographic influxes from the East and West, reaching it either from Europe through the Italian peninsula (now divided by the Strait of Messina) or from North Africa passing through the Eastern Maghreb (presently separated by the Sicilian Channel) (Schifani & Alicata 2018;Alicata & Schifani 2019;Schifani et al 2020Schifani et al , 2021aSchifani et al , 2022. For these reasons, its ant fauna is characterized by some unique traits (Wang et al 2022).…”

“…For these reasons, its ant fauna is characterized by some unique traits (Wang et al 2022). There are currently 14 species of Temnothorax whose presence in Sicily has been recorded and was not later dismissed: T. affinis (Mayr, 1855), T. clypeatus (Mayr, 1853), T. exilis (Emery, 1869), T. flavicornis (Emery, 1870), T. laestrygon (Santschi, 1931), T. lagrecai (Baroni Urbani, 1964), T. lichtensteini (Bondroit, 1918), T. mediterraneus Ward et al, 2015, T. muellerianus (Finzi, 1922, T. nylanderi (Foerster, 1850), T. ravouxi (André, 1896), T. recedens (Nylander, 1856), T. rottenbergii (Emery, 1870), and T. unifasciatus (Latreille, 1798) (see De Stefani 1889;Baroni Urbani 1964;Buschinger et al 1988;Schifani & Alicata 2018;Schär et al 2020;Schifani et al 2021aSchifani et al , 2022Schifani 2022). Of these, T. laestrygon and T. lagrecai are considered to be endemic, but the status of both appeared doubtful due to the lack of clearly defined diagnostic features.…”

Formerly considered rare, the ant species Cryptopone ochracea (Mayr, 1855) can be commonly detected using citizen-science tools

“…In recent decades, the spread of digitisation has made several new tools available to scientists and, with the spread of internet access and smart devices, scientists can easily involve non-professionals in scientific projects (Hand 2010). Citizen science can contribute to efforts to document species in general, but it also may be applied particularly to efforts to provide data concerning invasive, rare or poorly documented species (Bodilis et al 2013, Maistrello et al 2016, Moulin 2020, Tiralongo et al 2020, Marcenò et al 2021, Mori et al 2021. As many previous examples confirm, the many non-professionals involved can provide a wealth of interesting data for researchers (Dickinson et al 2012, Kosmala et al 2016, McKinley et al 2017.…”